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May 28, 2021 3:00 am
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A New Beginning is the daily half-hour program hosted by Greg Laurie, pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Southern California. For over 30 years, Pastor Greg and Harvest Ministries have endeavored to know God and make Him known through media and large-scale evangelism. This podcast is supported by the generosity of our Harvest Partners.
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You are listening to a new beginning with Greg Laurie, a podcast made possible by harvest partners, helping people everywhere know God. Visit our website and learn more about harvest partners@harvest.org is God really is. We want you to move it were out of touch with God, out of touch with the plan will no doubt be a sink with this timing as well. Pastor Greg Laurie offers perspective. I think we need to remember that God's ways are the surly is your brain. For one thing what God wants to be on God's word. He knows what he's doing weight on his heat of something in the microwave and sugar message to someone on the other side of the planet in a split second, days or weeks should be any wonder then why we assume our prayers today of a new beginning for Greg Laurie shows as it happens, God's clock on a different schedule hours sweetheart. Timing is often impetuous as always, have you ever been in this situation that seemed absolutely hopeless will compare it to a tumultuous storm in your run your little boat pitching back and forth in the way and you don't see any way out and suddenly the storm stops and the sun comes out and the birds are singing. Or maybe I'm talking to somebody right now that have life going perfectly in so many ways. All of a sudden you are hit with a severe illness or the death of a loved one, and you don't know how you're going to get through what you're going through right now that I think you're going to find some hope and what you look at together here in Mark chapter 5 this is a story of two very different people. One was a man. The other was a woman.
One was unknown. One was relatively famous what they have in common was they both needed Jesus starting with this woman. She was in a hopeless hopeless situation. She had spent all of her money on doctors to no avail. And she could not get rid of this horrible sickness that plagued her. That will talk about in a moment, the second person in our story was a man who was a ruler of the local synagogue. He had power and prestige, but he needed Jesus to because his beloved daughter was at death's door.
So the point of it is. Everybody needs Jesus, every man, every woman, every old person, every young person every middle-aged person every middle-aged person who thinks their young person, whoever you are, everyone needs Jesus. He is there for you.
Now the story is a part of a trilogy here in Mark chapter 5 about the power of Jesus Christ in the first movement of the chapter we see that Christ has power over nature as he stops a storm from raging with the words, peace be still that we see Jesus casting demons out of a man showing that Christ has power over evil. And in this message organ to see Jesus has power over sickness and death. The point is, he can deliver you from whatever you are facing. I'm also going to answer the following questions in this message number one. Where does sickness come from number two.
Why does God allow sickness. Number three. Does God still heal today and forth. And lastly, why doesn't God heal everyone. Let's look now at Mark chapter 5 starting in verse 21 we read these words. Jesus got into the boat again and went to the other side of the lake when a large crowd gathered around him on the shore. Then the leader of the local synagogue's name was gyrus arrived when he saw Jesus he fell at his feet, pleading fervently with them, saying, my little daughter is dying. Please come and lay your hands on her healer so she can live. Jesus went with them and all the people followed crowding around him. A woman in the crowd would suffered for 12 years with constant bleeding and had suffered a great deal for many doctors over the years and spent everything she had the p.m. but I got no better, but in fact it got worse. Heard about Jesus, so she came up from behind him through the crowd and touched his robe for she thought to herself, if I could touch his robe.
I can be healed immediately.
The bleeding stopped and she could feel it in her body and she'd been healed of her terrible condition. There 12 years very important timeframe. 12 years.
This woman had been dealing with this horrible illness and 12 years was the age of this little daughter of gyrus. So while this young girl had experience 12 years of relative happiness is the apple of her daddy's eye.
I'm sure he doted on her and loved her in so many ways it's shown by his urgency as he comes to Jesus, and the sick woman had experience 12 years of pain rejection in tears.
Yet on the same afternoon. Both of their lives were dramatically changed by their encounter with Jesus Christ. No one of these people is a well-known ruler of the local synagogue and his name is gyrus's daughter suddenly fell ill and he felt that he needed to go to Jesus. But as he's on his way home with Jesus to help him. This woman sort of verse on the scene, but as will see this interruption became an opportunity. But let's focus a little bit on gyrus what actually happened already said this little girl was 12 years old and suddenly she's sick and he's trying everything he can to get her better, and nothing is working and he hears that Jesus is near.
Now I don't know gyrus believed in Jesus. Yet if you'd embraced him and put his faith in him.
He obviously was a Jewish spiritual leader, but apparently he believed that Jesus had the power to heal, so he approaches Christ and makes this amazing statement come lay your hands on my daughter and I believe she will be healed. I mean, that's a lot of faith in this photo. Jesus can touch her.
I know she'll be healed. So Jesus is all right.
So they're making their way to the home of gyrus.
The crowd is following and all of a sudden just seemingly out of nowhere, some woman touches the hem of Jesus garment which is no big deal, but it's a Christ suddenly stops and asked the question who touched me know how easily could gyrus of said hey lady, hold on, he's with me know. Cots remember when you were in school. Some of you still are we be waiting to eat that horrible food in schools of the food any better in school today and never was back when I went to school.
Sort of like school food, hospital food, an oxymoron is not really very good but boy someone cut in our lie would say hey man, no cut and gyrus Kidder said that to that woman, what are you doing not he's going home with me right now, but actually gyrus did not do that. Maybe it's because he knew well, that's how Jesus rolls he always has time for hurting people gyrus no doubt heard the story about Jesus healed that the Moni act of the Gadarenes in his life had been so transformed he heard the story of how they lowered the paralyzed man through the opening in the roof and Jesus touched him and forgave his sin so he wasn't going to criticize Jesus and maybe we could say this was a test for gyrus. Maybe if he had failed this test that would've turned out differently.
I don't know but if there was a test gyrus certainly trusted with flying colors.
But sometimes God doesn't move as quickly as we want him to move. Got sick in a God says my ways are not your ways and my thoughts are not your thoughts in God's timing is often different than ours. We want things now we live in a day of getting instant information. Our phone buzzes or beads and we get that newsfeed and we know what's going on as it's happening.
We get things quickly. There do we get food from over eats and we get here we get there.
Everything happens quickly and then God says will just wait wait on the Lord and he will renew your strength and with again. I don't really want to do that, you know, maybe you're a young person in your single and your say Lord when you gonna bring that man of that woman in my life. I want to get married.
I mean I'm I'm 17 years old. I'm tired of waiting or maybe your say Lord what you can open the door of opportunity for me to serve you, or you might be asking Lord, how long you gonna let that person get away with that sin. Or maybe your say Lord, when are you going to come back and judge this world and return and rule over us again and sometimes in our impatience, we may take things into our own hands, but not gyrus he's going ill just wait until Jesus does what he's going to do. And then Jesus will come with him to his home and heal his daughter. I think we need to remember that God's delays are not necessarily his denials. Maybe I'm talking to somebody right now that's been praying about something and it hasn't happened as quickly as you wanted to happen.
So use our thinking God is say no that then maybe true, I will rule that out. But Maybe God Is Saying Way, God answers prayer in three ways. Yes, no and wait and there's a reason he's having you wait member the story of Mary and Martha, and Lazarus. There were close friends of Jesus. Lazarus die. Jesus showed up there in their hometown of Bethany and he said your brother is going to live again.
See Mary and Martha were upset that Jesus didn't come to their town sooner.
When he found out there brother and his friend was sick.
But Jesus sort of delaying his arrival. If you will. So by the time he hit down Donnelly was Lazarus dead. But Jesus even missed the funeral and he promised Mary and Martha, your brother will live again and they said will Lord we know. Yes, in the resurrection of molesting a Jesus said listen, I am the resurrection on the life he that believes in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Listen, they wanted the healing Jesus wanted a resurrection so maybe you're praying for one thing, but God wants to do above and beyond that listen God's at work. He knows what he's doing way on his time, Mr. Greg Laurie will have the second half of his message in just a moment. So many listeners have commented on the help they received from Pastor Greg Staley messages God's word ministers to them often gets them through some of the darkest hours. I'm down back for hurting heart really how you live here and are not any help may have been any way been working here method and your hard work and getting no lightning and I'm not meeting when you get back.
I'm reading the Bible. When I read that he kind now turn when I go again for you if you had your life changed because of harvest ministries which you let Pastor Greg know just drop him an email greg@harvest.org again, that's great@harvest.org now.
Pastor Greg continues his message from Mark five called everybody needs Jesus.
Let's listen. This woman touches the hem of the garments of Jesus, she had this medical condition. We don't even really know what it was but we know that she bled perpetually.
Maybe it was some kind of a hemorrhage and no doctor could help her and by the way, the remedies back in these days could be really strange so I don't know if she ever had any proper medical attention but you spent all of her money.
Maybe in quiet doctors, promising her a remedy or solution and she reads as if I can touch Jesus. I know I can be healed actually were told in Mark chapter 5 verse 26 she suffered a great deal in the care of many doctors and spent all that she had and instead of getting better. She only thought worse and she thought if I can touch the Lord everything will change that brings me to my first question is it presumptuous to think that God heals people today. Let me answer those questions.
I raise a little bit earlier about healing. One of them was where does sickness come from, why do we even have to get sick, bullets, and the visit was never part of God's original plan.
We weren't supposed to get sick. We weren't supposed to age we weren't supposed to die goes back to our first parents, Adam and Eve there in the garden vitamin E but not eaten of the forbidden fruit. We would not get sick of Adam and Eve had not eaten of the forbidden fruit. We would not age of Adam and Eve had not eaten of the forbidden fruit.
I would have hair still so a and we have illness and ultimately we die. Romans 512 says as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin in this way death came to all men because all have sin, but why does God allow sickness. That's the second question why does God allow sickness, short answer, there's a lot of could say here's a short answer.
God allow sickness in our lives sometimes to bring this to him. I read many stories of people that felt they had no need for God when they got ill on their deathbed or maybe in a hospital room. They asked for spiritual help. And of course they found it, so sometimes it's to get our attention.
The psalmist said before I was afflicted, I want to stray but now I have kept your word. Listen sometimes God allow sickness in the life of the believer to keep us humble. Take the apostle Paul as an example, he was transformer the power of God on the Damascus road and put his faith in Jesus while he was on his way to hunt down and put Christians to death. Then God used Paul, of course, to write a good portion of the Bible in his wonderful epistles. In addition to that, he led many people to Christ. The established churches and got even healed people through Paul. And if that wasn't enough. Paul had the amazing experience of going to heaven of actually going to glory in getting a glimpse of what was ahead, and then he came back to this earth.
This may have happened during one of the attacks against him when he was stoned. In particular, and they thought he was dead and he came back to life. That's maybe the moment will Paul want to heaven. And so it if you know you've been they have and then you've seen haven't God's use you to write epistles. That's pretty heady stuff to listen to what Paul writes in second Corinthians 12 to keep me from becoming proud. I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud three different times. I asked the Lord to take it away, and each time he said my grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness. The Paul says so now I boast about my weaknesses, so the power of Christ can work through me.
That is why I take this is crazy. This is why I take pleasure in weaknesses and insults and hardships and persecutions, and troubles. I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong thorn in the flesh, God allow a messenger from Satan, a demon, no doubt to bring hardship in the life of the great apostle to keep him humble.
Another reason God allows sicknesses to be glorified through your life as you honor God, even when you're struggling with the sickness, I think of two people that I've gotten to know, that are so impressive to me. One is Johnny Erickson, Todd. I mean she is literally a national treasure.
This is a lady who was a young girl of through a diving accident, became a quadriplegic and she's been in a wheelchair now for so many years, but I'll tell you God is used Johnny to bring encouragement and hope to people all around the world thought just disabled people, but all people and in many ways you could say Johnny is turned disability into an ability, a supernatural ability, then I think of a friend of mine named Nick voyage on Nick was born without his limb's and God has used him to help people literally all around the world, especially young people who are depressed in dealing with all the challenges they face in and there is Nick before them with all of his problems radiating joy in sharing Jesus. And so God can be glorified through your sickness or's reasons he allows that that sometimes we don't understand what this brings us to question number three.
Does God still healed today. Does God still healed today and I believe the answer is yes.
Does he heal everyone.
The answer is no. Does he heal some people. The answer is yes.
But know this, God has the ability to heal.
God has the desire to heal and we need to understand that is a 53 says of Jesus, he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, we considered him stricken by God, smitten, and afflicted. He was pierced for our transgressions, and he was crushed for our iniquities the punishment that brought us peace was upon him. Listen, and by his wounds we are healed.
Peter commenting on that same verse in first Peter 224 says Christ bore our sins on the tree and by his wounds you have been healed and the word that Peter uses every healed is a war that always speaks of physical healing. So can God heal the answer is yes. So why are some of is still sick. Are you ready for my super simple answer. And maybe because you got as God heal you in the book of James.
It says you have not because you ask not. Simple is that you have not because you ask not.
Jesus said ask and it shall be given to you seek and you shall find, knock and the door shall be open and in the original language. There is an ascending intensity to those verbs, meaning keep asking, keep seeking, keep talking. Keep praying.
Now Paul prayed three times a God would remove his thorn in the flats and the Lord said, my grace is sufficient for you, but other times the Lord will say yes maybe not after the first time you Prater the second of the third but maybe at a certain moment. He says okay I'm going to heal. That's what this woman did she thought of. I can touch him him he heal and so that is one common to her for Greg Laurie is helping us consider the great faith of the woman described in Mark chapter 5 today on a new beginning. A study called, everybody needs Jesus, and if you weren't able to hear every word of this important insight get caught up by listening online@harvest.org and it's a real privilege to make available a new book by Fox news anchor and chief legal correspondent Shannon Brame. You may have seen her on Fox news at night in the evenings.
She's written a refreshing new book called the women of the Bible speak at pastor Greg's wife Kathy is here with Shannon Shannon dedicate this book to your grandmother's and just want to know what is the role that your grandmother's played in your life and your journey of faith and pain maybe just a word of encouragement as to how women out there today might realize that date. They may have a very quiet role of parenting are grandparenting the impact that it can make on an individual semi-grandma now lifted 100 until and she was faithful. I mean she was in church every Sunday. She had her piercing when you say close-up transitional hear the music and the pastor shall is perhaps every Sunday.
It was a family tradition that we would be with her and then we would have Sunday dinner afterwords and just Sunday's together are such an amazing memory for me that she was faithful, and she trusted the Lord and she wise and feisty and not any she wise is somebody who are faced with her priority now. I'm still blessed to have my grandmother, my other grandmother Margaret Weatherly who is still with us.
She is 95 years old and she is somebody who in the last two years really struggle healthwise with other issues. I mean I can have a conversation with her were she's not talking that the Lord is giving me another day. What can I do with this day he knows what the timing is and I'm just gonna trust and he's with me. He's my companion. Even when I'm alone and struggling, and so for her. She continues to be that witness and show to the book at I can. I want to show her in person. The dedication and can't wait for her to see it and just to be able to thank her for letting that consistent life and faith, especially in the in these days were she's really faced a lot of struggles and instead of turning or being better when she somebody who said hey listen, the Lord woke me up, gave me another day when I get to do it that he can walk with me in nonfat and holding in my hands this book. It is so beautiful I I'm a grandmother and I'm just thinking someday someone write a book and include me in an introduction or dedication like that I be so blessed. It is beautiful. I love it.
It's just very feminine flowers on their back. The contents of this book hopefully will inspire another generation of women to go forward with strength and boldness and courage even in the most difficult times. The encouragement is here these women at the Bible really to speak to our lives. And I'm so grateful that you wrote this book, the wisdom as 16 women and their lessons for today and that is what cell amazing is the Bible is truly alive. The words are important and date are leaving and they speak life into us even today. Kathy Lori speaking with Shannon Brame, author of the new book the women of the Bible speak is such a wonderful tool of inspiration for women and really for all of us and would like to send this to you.
Thank you for your investment in the important work of bringing people to the Lord and bringing people closer to the Lord that we recently heard this from a listener. I listen to your podcast for nearly 3 years. You help me accept Jesus. I'm currently receiving cancer treatment and your new believers Bible is what keeps me going.
I read your devotions every morning when you your investment helps us reach people like this. It's an investment in touching and changing people's lives and with your donation right now. You can choose the amount will be glad to send you the women of the Bible speak and we hope you'll contact us soon will only be able to mention this. A short time longer just write a new beginning. Box 4000, Riverside, CA 92514 or call 1-800-821-3300 and we can take your call anytime. That's 1-800-821-3300 or go online to harvest.org everybody Greg Laurie here encouraging you to join us as we give her what we call harvest that home is worse and it's a message of the word of God. You can watch it with your family and your front room where you can watch it on the go on your tablet on your phone or your computer.
Take it with you think the word of God with you. Join us for Harvest at Home harvest will next time more from Pastor Greg study in Mark chapter 5. Good encouragement to how the Lord can touch our lives and meet us at our point of need. Join us on a new beginning. Greg Laurie and everybody thinks or listening to an beginning this is a podcast made possible by harvest partners.
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